Ascension residents urged to self-report flood damage

Ascension Parish emergency officials are asking any residents who experienced flood waters in their homes or other flood damage from last night’s rain storm and flash-flooding to self-report the fact to www.damage.la.gov.

The easy-to-use site, which is operated by the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, asks questions about location and extent of damage, and even offers the ability to upload digital photos.

Since the flash-flooding was not the result of a named storm, the location defaults to “other” when “Ascension Parish” is entered. Collecting this information helps the Parish when requesting state and federal assistance.

“The Parish will use this information to improve our drainage system and to apply for grants and other funding to help us do so,” Parish President Clint Cointment said. “We want to learn from the mistakes of the past to prepare for the emergencies of the future.”